tabouleh with merguez sausages

Merguez (lamb, beef and paprika) - absolutely the most wonderful barbecue delight. Spicy and spitty - perfect in the delirious sunshine that is now the definite norm in Cromer. This batch were brought back from France last Summer, bought in a last minute panic with the wine and cumin flavoured gouda cheese. Along with the sausages, the barbecue yielded some lovely chicken (2 crowns for £5, each split down the middle, glooped in an off the shelf Nandos marinade and some ill thought out lamb chops, marinated in mint sauce. The chicken was fabulous and the chops were fine but didn't taste of mint at all!

The bulghur wheat says to cook it and so on but I just soak it like couscous which, incidentally, is an ok substitute. I think they probably use dried mint in the tubs of tabouleh that we live on when we're camping in France. Other perfect accompaniments for this would be potato salad with frankfurters, celeriac in lemony mayonaise and carrot rappe.Oh and that lovely beetroot salad they do in French supermarkets.

Make sure the herbs are plentiful with the wheat in the background (I probably used a bit too much to bulk it out for the week ahead).

ingredients

• bulghur wheat
• a tomato(finely diced)
• juice of 2 lemons
• flat leaf parsley (lots)
• mint (not as much as the parsley)
• a small red union (finely diced)
• cucumber (finely diced)
• 2 cloves of garlic (mushed)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp sumac
• olive oil

method

1. soak the bulghur wheat in boiling water (about 1cm above the top of the wheat)
2. leave it to cool down - all afternoon in this case
3. slice/chop the herbs but not too finely
4. combine all the ingredients and drench with lemon juice and some olive oil

Make enough to last all week.

sausage casserole

It's been a long time since this blog went into hibernation but I think it may be back now. Ruth has a new camera and the clocks have sprung forwards, heralding British Summertime and better lighting. The kids will still turn their noses up at perfectly lovely food, but hey, everyone will get fed and we'll have a little slice of heaven. Eldest boy has been in his room for 2 years now and looks tall and pale - a bit like a broad bean plant that has been germinated in a dark cupboard. Middle boy is out videoing for his rigorously dull YouTube channel whilst the youngest has whisked my tablet away for the afternoon.

I love sausage casserole, especially when it's cold outside. Anything that has little firm lentils and meaty sausages has to be a winner in my book.

ingredients:
(serves 5 with some left over - add more sausages to cook for more)

• red onion (chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 leek (sliced) 
• 1 stick of celery (chopped small)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 1 green pepper (diced) 
• olive oil (glug)
• butter (about the size of two thumbs)
• handful of black olives
• freshly ground pepper and salt
• 4 small cooking chorizo (chopped up)
• 10 plump sausages (5 venison, 5 Old English)
• 2 bay leaves
• thyme
• 1.5 pts chicken stock
• about a cup of green or puy lentils

1. sweat the onion, garlic, leek, celery. carrot and pepper in oil and butter. Lots of black pepper at this point creates just the right aroma to keep you hanging around in the kitchen
2. brown the sausages in a little oil
3. add the chorizo to the onions etc and warm through
4. add the lentils, bay leaves and thyme, just folding it all through, coating the lentils
5. pour in the stock and bring to a simmer - add salt but be careful if your stock is salty (also the olives will impart some saltiness)
6. tip the lentils etc into a reasonable sized casserole and gently place the sausages on the top
7. throw on the olives and add another knob of butter
8. cover and place in a medium oven for about an hour and a half, checking later on that the whole dish has enough liquid

I'm going to serve this with some kind of potatoes (maybe mash, maybe sauted) and buttery cabbage.